Pushing for Peace : A case study on Fairphone as an exploration of conflict-sensitive consumerism

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Pushing for Peace

A case study on Fairphone as an exploration

of conflict-sensitive consumerism

Master Thesis Human Geography

Conflicts, territories & identities

Radboud University Nijmegen

February 2014

Lisa Olsthoorn

S4217640

Supervisor: Dr. Willemijn Verkoren

Second reader: Prof. dr. Henk van Houtum

Correspondence address:

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ABSTRACT

As citizens are seeking for new means to express their political values and concerns, do-it-yourself political activism by means of consumption in the global North against violent conflict in the global South has so far remained understudied. This explorative research on conflict-sensitive consumerism bridges academic literature on conflict resources, the global embeddedness of ‘local’ conflict, political consumerism and cosmopolitanism. Based on this theoretical framework, this thesis explores how conflict-sensitive consumerism can be understood and how it is linked to political consumption as an expression of cosmopolitanism. For this, the case of Fairphone has been used to explore the meanings and values of consumers and makers that can be linked to their purchase and production of what is considered the first step towards a conflict-free phone. A phone produced with natural resources from mines outside the reach of armed groups.

By means of a discourse analysis of 49 blogs, four videos and website information, an online survey with 107 respondents and seven interviews with Fairphone and customers, the conclusion can be drawn that the vast majority of Fairphone buyers can be seen as both political consumers and cosmopolitans. They embody corresponding values and behavior in line with global accountability and global solidarity beyond their national borders and a strong belief in the political power of the consumer.

However, as can be learned from the case of Fairphone, conflict-sensitive consumerism cannot, in contrary to the hypotheses of this research, be considered as an autonomous trend within political consumption. The vast majority of the buyers of Fairphone have not based their purchase on values and meanings primarily concerned with peace and violent conflict. Instead, the conflict-free elements of Fairphone have been included in the more inclusive and holistic concept of what is considered as ‘fair’. This shows that Fairphone buyers are mostly driven by a broader socially conscious lifestyle. Even though consumers did not consider conflict as their main motivation for their purchase, they did express to feel responsible as consumers for violent conflict. They have expressed a desire for more transparency and information about the link between conflict and consumption. This has implications for civil society organizations, business and governmental institutions involved with and working in conflict regions in the global South. They are the ones that ought to develop strategies towards the structural global approach of ‘local’ violent conflict.

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PREFACE

As this five-month academic journey has come to an end and this finished master thesis is now in front of you, I would like to express my gratitude to the people whose support and help I have enjoyed throughout my research. First of all, I would like to thank the Broker, for having me as their first research trainee and giving me all the freedom I needed for my academic mission. I have enjoyed the time at the office with colleagues as I could, as a welcome distraction, have many discussions on Dutch development cooperation during lunch breaks. In particular, I am grateful to Karlijn Muiderman, who as my supervisor kept me on my toes as I tried to find my research focus. Her intelligent and critical questions have helped me starting my research. And of course Saskia Hollander, who gave me the opportunity to write a blog for The Broker on my first research findings for the Power Dynamics and Natural Resources dossier

The Fairphone team, for showing great commitment by allowing individual interviews even though they were going through the most turbulent times as their social enterprise was taking off. A special thanks to Bibi Bleekemolen who has shown special unconditional interest in my research and has helped me set up all the interviews with herself and her colleagues.

Fairphone customers that I interviewed, thank you for taking the time to talk to me in person or through Skype. As research often depends on the willingness of others to participate, I am truly thankful to you for making mine less complicated.

I am deeply grateful to dr Willemijn Verkoren, my supervisor, for being very helpful and supportive throughout my research. Unfailingly, I could rely on her quick replies through e-mail when colliding with academic roadblocks. I have enjoyed the inspiring conversations we had during our meetings. They helped me continue in the same positive spirit. In addition, a word of thanks to my second reader prof. dr. Henk van Houtum who took the time to read and grade this paper

My deepest gratitude to my parents whose unconditional support I have felt throughout my entire study. Thank you Dad, for reading through my proposals and suggesting some improvements on my English.

I save my final expression of most profound thanks to Gijs. The days of panicky text messages are now over. Your encouragement has helped me finish this thesis in time. You were my beloved sparring partner as I was working on my thesis months in a row.

* P.S. And thank you dear laptop, for not dying on me while writing this thesis. Although you are full with conflict minerals, you have not left my side while I most needed you.

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TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: Conceptual model...17

Figure 5.1: Age of respondents in years (%) ...29

Figure 5.2: Location of respondents in numbers ...30

Figure 5.3: Self-ascribed geographical identity respondents (%) ...30

Figure 5.4: Most important element Fairphone roadmap (%) ...31

Figure 5.5: Knowledge on Fairphone roadmap (%) ...31

Figure 5.6: Knowledge on the conflict in the DRC (%) ...32

Table 5.1: Score allocation for propositions ‘COSMOSCALE’ ...33

Table 5.2: Frequency table ‘COSMOSCALE’ scores of respondents ...33

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“If nobody buys the conflict stuff,

There is no money for the conflict stuff”*

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1. INTRODUCTION

Imagine a group of students. Not all students in a group have the same learning success, thereby showing that the students must be different in some respects. There will be student-specific factors leading to a better performance by some, and worse performance by others. However, this does not mean that circumstances influencing the whole group are irrelevant. It could be the case that all students would perform better if they had a different teacher, another building or a better-equipped library. Moreover, the male students might perform better if they received the same attention from the teacher as the female students received.

This analogy made by Pogge (2007) can be applied to a countries’ ‘success’ as well. The chances of a country achieving peace and overcoming conflict depend on both local and global factors. Many people, however, believe that their chances of living a prosperous life depend at least as much on processes that move beyond the borders of territorial states (Fraser, 2000). During analysis of international development, ‘global’ factors interacting with peace and conflict are often understudied in comparison to the study of ‘local’ factors.

The study of so-called ‘fragile states’ serves as an example of this. In the field of international development and conflict studies, the term ‘fragile state’ has been commonly used. This label of a state being ‘fragile’, suggests that the responsibility of violence and instability lies with the national government of the country in crisis. As stated by Verkoren & Junne (2012, p. 129): ‘“They” (local leaders) have failed and “we” (the rich countries) come to the rescue. We do this out of moral

goodness and last but not least, as is more often under discussion, out of enlightened self-interest. However, it is forgotten that rich countries themselves play an important role in the causation and continuation of violence and conflicts in poor countries” (translation by author). The global arms trade serves as an example of this.

Through (inter)national peace missions, bilateral development aid and projects of civil society organizations such as NGOs, rich countries have focused on the symptom treatment instead of addressing the causes of conflict which can be found closer to home.

As conflicts are integrated within our world system, they should be studied accordingly. The world-system approach, as one of the frameworks that connects underdevelopment with development worldwide in a correlative manner, has been influential in the 1970s within development studies. Current approaches and theories, however, show a conceptual disconnection between poor and rich countries (Verkoren & Junne, 2012) and as a result neglect the structural causes of conflict worldwide.

The reasoning for symptom treatment of conflict and the neglect of the structural causes of conflict can mainly be found in the self-protective tendencies of nations. Archibugi (1998) poses that the main driving force of international politics is national interest. In this scenario it is unlikely that a government will give priority to a conflict if it does not serve national interests. For countries to work together on the structural causes of conflict, it is important that none of these states receive benefits from continuing the conflict. On top of that, the advantages of sustainable peace should be made particularly clear. Individual countries would benefit from global stability in the long run, by for example decreasing refugee flows and reduced threats of terrorism. Nevertheless, modern democracies often show a prevalence of short-term interests. The hesitance of states to engage in issues of global stability and wealth shows how governments are struggling in their balancing act to foster their own national prosperity while at the same time

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involving themselves in urging global dilemmas, which do not generate direct positive results for their national development.

Moreover, within the current complexity of our global economy, governments are struggling with their regulatory effectiveness. As a result, trends can be observed of citizens getting involved with the dysfunctions of the capitalist economy that touch upon global inequality. Consumer behavior has been one of the tools used to foster global change on issues in which citizens feel their government to be ineffective in tackling (Føllesdal, 2003). These citizens use the global market as an arena of action, political participation and social and economic regulation. They have engaged themselves in the boycot and ‘buycot’ of producers and products with the aim to use the market to vent their political concerns. This development has become known as political consumption.

Political consumption, or ethical consumption as some name it, has become an increasingly relevant form of consumerism and political engagement, but has only recently been taken up by scholars within social sciences (Stolle et al. 2005, Micheletti et al. 2003). Political consumption can be defined as “the consumer choice of producers and products based on political and/or

ethical considerations” (Micheletti et al., 2003, p. xvi). Political consumers seek for specific producers

and products with the aim to change institutional or market practices. “They make their choices based

on considerations of justice or fairness, or on an assessment of business and government practices. Regardless of whether political consumers act individually or collectively, their market choices reflect an understanding of material products as embedded in a complex social and normative context, which can be called the politics behind products”

(Stolle and Micheletti, 2005, p. 1).

The politics behind products often extend beyond national borders and focus on production chains involved with workers all around the globe. Political consumers are thus concerned not only with their own needs, but with those of others involved in the global supply chain as well. Therefore it is no coincidence that political consumption has been studied together with cosmopolitanism.

As defined by Nussbaum (1996), cosmopolitanism refers to a ‘moral commitment to universal values’. Less abstract definitions have been formulated by others scholars, brought together by Llopis-Goig (2013):

“Cosmopolitanism is a cultural disposition that implies an ‘openness’ towards people, places, objects and experiences of other cultures (Tomlinson, 1999), as well as the search for, and delight in, the contrasts between societies, rather than a longing for superiority or uniformity (Szerszynski and Urry, 2002, p. 468). It is argued that such an attitude is expressed by an emotional and ethical commitment towards universalism, selflessness, worldliness and communitarianism (Skrbis and Woodward, 2007, p. 730)” (Llopis-Goig, 2013, p. 482).

Based on empirical studies with Spanish consumers, Llopis-Goig (2013) states the case that political consumerism can be considered to be an expression of cosmopolitanism. Through political consumption these consumers put flesh on the bones of the abstract notions of cosmopolitanism. However, studies on political consumption and cosmopolitanism have mainly focused on the consumption of organic and fair-trade products. These products are mostly concerned with issues related to working conditions and environmental degradation.

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in the position to do something about it. The attention that was asked for the consumption of ‘blood diamonds’ or ‘conflict diamonds’ in for example Sri Lanka, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the turn of the twenty-first century, however has brought conflict closer to home. Production, consumption and trade of natural resources play a distinct role in conflict. These natural resources are part of our national and global economy. This makes it very clear that the handling of these minerals should play a more structural role in peace building or even conflict prevention. Consumers, being users of these minerals in for example tablets and mobile phones, should be included in the issue of handling them as well.

1.1 Research objective and research question

The aim of this thesis is to gain an understanding of conflict-sensitive consumerism. Conflict-sensitive consumerism can be defined as consumption motivated by political and ethical values that contribute to peace and conflict prevention. As consumers are extending their political action repertoires to the field of consumption, the findings of this research will serve as a first exploration on to what extent consumers are sensitized on the global embeddedness of local conflict through the consumption of conflict resources. By doing so, this study aims to position conflict-sensitive consumerism in relation to political consumerism as an expression of cosmopolitanism.

In short, this study also aims to open up the (academic) debate on the embeddedness of ‘local’ conflict within the global system and the development of new opportunities for global-political consumer action for peace building and conflict prevention. The following research question has been formulated to provide initial focus to this research:

How can conflict-sensitive consumerism be understood and

how does it relate to political consumerism as an expression of cosmopolitanism?

This comprehensive research question will be divided into several smaller research questions that have been distilled from the theoretical framework of this study. These will be discussed in chapter two of this study.

In order to provide with an answer to this research question, an instrumental case study has been selected that forms the very core of this study. As this study explores conflict-sensitive consumerism, the case of Fairphone was chosen based on a number of criteria. It is a mobile phone for the consumer market produced by a social enterprise that raises awareness on conflict minerals in mobile phones. It has committed itself to building a conflict-free phone. Their customers' opinions and the meaning they attach to the conflict; their consumption and their general motivation to buy the Fairphone; and finally the philosophy used by Fairphone itself regarding conflict and consumption, provide valuable insight into the mechanisms of conflict-sensitive consumerism and its relation to political consumption as an expression of cosmopolitanism.

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1.2 Academic relevance

Over the past few years, the workings of political consumption have become an increasingly relevant topic within social sciences. Within this field of study, political consumption has been considered an expression of cosmopolitanism. This notion is supported by citizens seeking for means to deal with social, cultural, economic and political complexities they are confronted with in the context of an increasingly interconnected and globalized world.

However, research on political consumption has been predominantly focused on consumers buying or boycotting products for environmental sustainability and/or the improvement of labor conditions in the global South. So far, research done on consumption particularly targeted at alleviating and or preventing violent conflict has been rare. This research can therefore be seen as an attempt to bridge a knowledge gap, literature on conflict resources, global embeddedness of local conflict, political consumerism in the global North and cosmopolitanism. Even though these subjects have been studied independently within academic research, there is a lack of research on how these concepts can be linked in both theory and practice. Generating insight in the mechanisms of conflict-sensitive consumerism opens up a promising framework for our understanding of the nexus between conflict resources, the global embeddedness of conflict and political consumption as an expression of cosmopolitanism.

1.3 Societal relevance

As we live in an increasingly interconnected and globalized world, people are seeking for means to deal with the social, cultural, economic and political complexities surrounding them. Political consumption is considered to be one of these means by which people put flesh on the bones of their cosmopolitan sentiments concerning these global complexities. So far however, there has been little knowledge of the behaviour and opinions of citizens engaged in so-called conflict-sensitive consumerism. As a result, conclusions of this study will be relevant for various societal levels.

For civil society organizations concerned with armed conflict, this study is a valuable repertoire of contemporary reflections and behaviour expressed by socially engaged citizens with respect to armed conflict in the global South. As this study is exploring a new field of political engagement, an understanding of conflict-sensitive consumerism is key in order to keep up with current developments on how citizens in the global North wish to engage themselves in armed conflict in the global South.

For (international) governmental institutions an understanding of conflict-sensitive consumerism underpins an effective and comprehensive policy on worldwide conflict prevention and peace building. If citizens are to engage (in)directly in conflict management, through their consumer behaviour, both international and national governmental bodies should be responsive to this trend and seek for ways to include consumers & consumer behaviour in (inter)national peace and security policies.

For commercial and social businesses this thesis increases their understanding of current opinions of conscious consumers regarding corporate responsibility in conflict areas. Many businesses, especially in the field of technology, are entangled in global supply chains including

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conflict-sensitive consumption by their potential customers is essential both from an ethical and a commercial point of view.

1.4 Research outline

This research question is embedded in a theoretical framework, which will be discussed in chapter 2. This chapter will bring together theory on the global embeddedness of ‘local’ conflict, conflict resources, political consumption and cosmopolitanism. These combined concepts provide us with a theoretical interpretation of the conflict-sensitive consumer. Whether or not this conflict-sensitive consumer exists and how conflict-sensitive consumerism can be understood best, will be explored by using the research questions discussed by the end of chapter 2, followed by the conceptual framework and the hypothesized outcomes of this study. Chapter 3 will justify and elaborate on the chosen case study research method and the process of data collection by the use of discourse analysis, interviews and a survey. In addition, this chapter provides an anecdotal introduction to the case of Fairphone. Chapter 4 will present the results obtained by the discourse analysis of 49 blogs, 4 videos and website information of Fairphone and an elaboration on the interviews held with the four team members of Fairphone. Chapter 5 will provide with an overview of both the qualitative and quantitative results of the online survey with Fairphone customers followed by a discussion of the three follow-up interviews with Fairphone customers. In chapter 6 the results will be analyzed by giving answers to the respective research questions as formulated for this study. This thesis will be completed by chapter 7 with a conclusion and reflection on the results, thereby providing us with an answer to the main research question, followed by recommendations for future research and practice.

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2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Several theoretical concepts and theories form the basis of this research. Therefore this chapter will discuss the theoretical framework in which conflict-sensitive consumerism has been positioned.

2.1 The global embeddedness of ‘local’ conflict

As already discussed in the introduction, contemporary conflicts in the world have often been analyzed by zooming in on the ‘local’ roots of conflict, thereby neglecting the global context. World-systems analysis offers a way of looking at our global system at a macro level: with the world-system, instead of single nation states, as its main focus. The world-systems perspective gained momentum by the work of for example, Immanuel Wallerstein, whose interpretation was mainly focused on the transnational division of labour, dividing the world in core, semi-periphery, periphery countries (Wallerstein, 1974).

Wallerstein’s world-systems analysis builds upon dependency theory, a neo-Marxist theory founded upon the notion that the resources of natural resource-rich countries from the periphery of poor and underdeveloped countries in the South move towards the core of rich states in the global North. This results in the enriching of countries in the global North at the expense of countries in the global South. Within this dual system, countries in the periphery provide natural resources and cheap labour and serve as a market for developed nations of the core (Wallerstein, 1992). This argument is further discussed by dependency theory thinker Andre Gunder Frank, who states that development and underdevelopment are opposite sides of the same coin, and “that both are the necessary outcome and manifestation of the contradictions of the capitalist system of development” (Potter et al., 2008, p. 110). According to dependency theory, without these ‘benefits’ people in developed nations would not be able to enjoy the same living standard as they do now. In general, it is not so much about the fact that developing countries are not integrated within the world system or only partially, but more about how they have been integrated (Chandhoke, 2005). These structural inequalities can be seen through several global divisions of labour. Galtung (1984) states how, for example, technology operates within a ‘code of structures’. These structures are not just a mode of production and therefore neutral. Instead, Western technology demands from its industries to be capital-intensive, research-intensive, organization-intensive and labour-intensive. This code creates a ‘centre’, mainly occupied with a high research and capital intensity, and on the other side a labour-intensive ‘periphery’. This division of labour within technology industries can still be seen today in the production of mobile phones.

World-systems analysis and dependency theory have been dominant in social sciences during the 1970s, but have nevertheless been replaced by theories that pay less attention to the macro-level of international development. However, this school of thinking still has applicable elements for today’s global challenges. Hoogvelt (2002) explains how within current debate on conflict, two broad theoretical perspectives can be observed: those that emphasize the external factors, such as the historical, structural and economic links with the capitalist world system, and those that emphasize the internal factors of for example economic mismanagement and political

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perspectives by the discourse of imperialism, described as the “deliberate transnational political interference for the purpose of the mobilization, extraction and external transfer of economic surplus from one political territory to another. According to Hoogvelt, these forms of imperialism of the global North in the global South result in Africa being excluded from the latest phase of world capitalist development. This statement by Hoogvelt then corresponds with the claim made by dependency theorists. It is not so much about the complete exclusion of the global South. It is rather its problematic inclusion in capitalist development that results in structural global inequality.

Dependency theory and the world-systems approach offer a theoretical framework to interpret global dynamics. It shows the several ways in which countries, regions and continents are interconnected through global processes. For example, and particularly relevant to this study is the impact of wealthy countries on developing countries in their search for natural resources. The ‘local’ wars of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone were inextricably linked with the trade of diamonds and other minerals such as coltan. Another example could be the war on terrorism, trade barriers or global price shocks. According to some critics (Verkoren & van Houtum, 2011) global challenges such as conflict, poverty and food security cannot be solved without addressing the structural context in which their development takes place. Symptom treatment will therefore not lead to sustainable solutions.

Furthermore, finding more structural solutions concerning for example conflict in ‘fragile’ states is beneficial to more countries than just the geographical location of the conflict. ‘Local’ conflict does bring the ‘here’ and ‘there’ closer together, since instability elsewhere manifests itself through flows of refugees, rise in oil prices and possibly terrorist attacks worldwide, since ‘fragile’ states are seen as a fertile soil for terrorists to organize themselves (Verkoren & van Houtum, 2011).

In short, as clearly put forth by Beck (2000, p. 102), “nothing which happens on our planet is

only a limited local event; all interventions, victories and catastrophes affect the whole world, and we must reorient and reorganize our lives and actions, our organizations and institutions, along a ‘local global’ axis”. This ‘local

global’ axis is particularly relevant when studying conflict-sensitive consumerism, as it potentially provides a means to link the ‘local’ (violent conflict) with the ‘global’ (for this study consumption worldwide).

2.2 The resource curse

The worldwide use of natural resources in particular asks for a ‘local-global’ axis of thought and action. A large and growing body of literature has investigated the correlation between conflict and natural resources. The extraction and excavation of natural resources do not only have environmental implications. According to some authors the presence of natural resources in a country increases the risk of civil war (LeBillon, 2005, Collier, 2007). A study of fifty fragile states by Collier (2007) claims that dependence upon primary commodity export, such as oil, diamonds and other minerals, substantially increases the risk of civil war. Within literature this has often been referred to as the resource curse.

Several mechanisms are at work, which makes a country dependent on natural resources more prone to conflict. As stated by LeBillon (2001), societies confronted with specific environmental conditions - scarcity or abundance - have a higher likelihood of being affected by violent conflicts. This is referred to by LeBillon (2001) as the political ecology of war. The

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supposed attenuating effects of having either too many or too few natural resources on national economies and governments lead to distributional conflicts turning violent. LeBillon (2001, p. 564) considers this to be “quasi-environmental determinism”. Several aspects of natural resources make its exploitation worthwhile.

First of all, some resources have proven to be easily monopolized by a government (e.g. oil, gas, minerals). As a result the recourse revenues are tightly linked with competition for control of the state by violent means (e.g. coup d’état or secessionist war) (Kamphuis, 2008). Moreover, Kamphuis and Verkoren (2012) explain how governments depending on resource income do not rely on their population through taxation. Resource revenues provide (political) leaders with a means for staying in power. They have established a regime organized through a patronage system that awards followers and punishes opponents (Bates, 1981; Byrant & Parnwell, 1996 in LeBillon 2001). Therefore, there seems to be no incentive for accountability and/or democratization. As a result, the integration of the natural resource market within the global economy does not lead to positive effects for the populations of those ‘fragile’ states and is not invested in peace and security. Big resources revenues thus weaken the need for political support, since governments do not depend upon taxes for finance.

Furthermore, regardless of the roots of the conflict, opposing parties once involved in the conflict need financial capital to sustain their rebel movements or militaries. The looting and selling of natural resources have turned out to be a ‘successful’ revenue model. Natural resources, such as diamonds, tin and tantalum are suitable for looting and its exploitation can be easily done by unskilled workers without machines. On top of that, minimal bureaucratic infrastructure is needed. The smuggling of these minerals is relatively easy and has therefore played an important role in conflicts such as in Sierra Leone, Angola, Cambodia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kamphuis, 2008).

However, whereas these natural resources were first considered as a means for funding and waging armed conflict driven by political motivations, armed conflict has increasingly become a means towards individual commercial enrichment by gaining access to valuable natural resources (Keen, 1998; Berdal & Malone, 2000). As a result, individual soldiers, local commanders and their political advocates have a stake in sustaining the conflict as this anarchy power politics provides them with access to resources of wealth. Usually this leads, as discussed before, to violent competition. Nevertheless, it can also lead to a ‘comfortable military’ stalemate in which both opposing factions finding a mutual benefit in the current situation, resulting in a ‘stable’ conflict station (Zartman, 1993 in LeBillon 2001).

The work of LeBillon and Collier among others have opened up a debate within conflict studies on the economic functions of violence and the socio-political causes of conflict, often referred to as the greed versus grievance debate. However, these studies have been praised and refuted at the same time by critics, as some have doubted the robustness of the link between civil war and natural resources (e.g. Ross (2005) A shared assumption among conflict scientists within this greed versus grievance debate is that “even where natural resource predation features strongly in conflict dynamics, it is seldom the sole or even main cause of conflicts” (Balentine & Nitzschke, 2005, p. 4). Although, relatively few wars are initially motivated by competition over the control of natural resources, many conflicts show dynamics in which natural resources have become an integral part of the political economy of war.

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Whereas it would be shortsighted to reduce violent conflicts to greed-driven resource wars, as grievances such as economic inequality or political deprivation are key factors, the (armed) control over resource wealth does influence the strategies of warring factions (LeBillon, 2001).

2.2.1 Conflict resources

Tin, tantalum and tungsten, often referred to as the ‘3 T’s’, together with gold can be considered the four most prominent conflict resources. These minerals are all to be found in the mines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): a country that has been involved in protracted violent conflict for the past fifteen years. The exploitation of these mines has funded armed control groups who have control over these mines. Its revenues are used for buying weapons and keeping its armed forces financially viable. As the DRC is a clear example of a political economy of war built on natural resource revenues. Economies like this, are often taken up in extensive networks involving mostly private groups, such as international organized criminal organizations, transnational corporations, governments of foreign countries, especially regional or former colonial powers and consumers from importing countries. As a result of the international involvement in the political economy of countries in conflict, international NGOs and other parties have questioned transnational businesses on their corporate responsibility as they have become involved with natural resources.

Specifically the electronics industry has been confronted with this issue. In 2007 the European campaign MakeITfair addressed the sector in respect to its responsibility for the conditions under which minerals are mined. In recent years, several international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have lobbied for more due diligence in the supply chains going through conflict areas. These advocacy programs were mainly focused on conflict minerals originating from the DRC (Steinweg & Ten Kate, 2013).

As a result, several guidelines have been set up to serve more or less as moral compass for commercial businesses working in conflict areas. In 2000, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights were established, a set of principles designed to guide companies ‘in maintaining the safety and security of their operations within an operating framework that encourages respect for human rights’ (Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, 2014). This guideline was followed up by a 2010 OECD guideline on the due diligence of supply chains of minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas and a 2010 United Nations Global Compact Guidance on responsible business in affected and high-risk areas. It has however, not merely limited itself to guidelines.

As a result of international lobby against conflict minerals, in July 2010 the American Congress consented to the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, of which section 1502 requires companies to know the source of the natural resources used in their products. If a company knows or has reasons to think its sourced materials find their origin in mines from the DRC, the company is obliged to conduct ‘due diligence’ research on its supply chain and origin. The outcomes of this research then need to be checked by an independent private sector audit agency and filed in a Conflict Minerals Report. In response to the Dodd Frank Act, many US based companies stopped purchasing minerals from the DRC leading to social unrest as a result of many mineworkers losing their livelihoods (Global Witness, 2011). The

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handling of these conflict minerals is complex and asks for an integration of both local and global regulations. NGOs such as the ENOUGH project and Raise Hope for Congo have been occupied with bringing together local and global partners to address the human rights abuses surrounding natural resource mining and trade. Several initiatives have been launched aimed to set up secure closed supply chains in the DRC. One of the initiatives, Solutions for Hope, started in 2011 and established an entirely conflict-free tantalum supply chain. In 2012, industry partners and the Dutch government launched the Conflict-Free Tin Initiative, which has as its main aim to set up a closed supply-chain for conflict-free tin from South Kivu, an eastern province of the DRC. Both initiatives have said to be successful in achieving a conflict-free supply chain from the mines to its end-users.

Although recent developments show considerable progress towards corporate responsibility in conflict and high-risk areas, the majority of these initiatives are mere guidelines that are not binding and/or laws that can be simply surpassed by a de facto embargo of conflict areas as can be learned from the Dodd Frank Act case. Therefore this should be considered as one of the means through which corporate responsibility can be achieved. As companies are highly dependent upon their customers for market reputation and sales results in general, consumer demand for corporate responsibility in conflict areas is a valuable and powerful tool. For consumers these guidelines and legislations provide handhold in making a strong case for human rights in the mining industry.

2.3 Cosmopolitanism

“Humankind is bound together morally, if not materially, in a politics of ‘spaceship earth” (McGrew, 2003, p. 413)

The growth of citizens caring for their global ‘others’ has not remained unnoticed. As discussed in the introduction of this research, the past decades have often been described as a time in which people as a result of globalization processes feel more engaged with people on ‘the other side of the world’ than ever before. People have developed and are still developing individual outlooks, behaviour and feelings that stretch beyond local and national boundaries (Llopis-Goig, 2013). These dispositions have been often positioned under the umbrella of cosmopolitanism.

A study by Woodward et al. (2008, pp. 208-209) has identified three main skeins in the literature on cosmopolitanism, reflecting its institutional, political or cultural dimensions. Discussing what is seen as the macro level of the phenomenon, cosmopolitanism describes “an

ambition or project of supra-national state building, including regimes of global governance, and legal-institutional frameworks for regulating events and processes which incorporate, but have impacts beyond any one nation”. On an institutional level the cosmopolitan project aims to make clear institutional arrangements to make those sites and forms of power accountable for the operations that move beyond the democratic control of one nation-state (Held 1998).

The political dimensions of cosmopolitanism are characterized by inclusivity, hybridity, multiplicity and an acknowledgement of cultural diversity. Cosmopolitanism as a political project aims to effectuate greater public accountability in the processes and developments of the contemporary world (Linklater, 1998). This way it develops a global civil society in which interest

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groups are engaged with global affairs such as economic development, peace, environmental issues, consumer affairs that extend beyond nation-state borders (Köhler, 1998).

Lastly, cosmopolitanism as a cultural phenomenon can be defined as an openness towards other cultures, values and experiences. Cosmopolitanism as a cultural disposition has shown most consensus among scholars and has been associated with new forms of mobility of people, products and capital (Beck 2006, Hannerz 1990, Szerszynski & Urry 2002). It implies an ‘openness’ towards people, places, objects and experiences of other cultures (Tomlinson, 1999) and relaxes the longing for superiority or uniformity of societies, and instead finds pleasure in the contrasts between societies (Szerszynski and Urry, 2002). In line with this definition, Held (2000, p. 425) defines the cosmopolitan citizens as “a person capable of mediating between national traditions,

communities of fate and alternative styles of life”. The attitudes of so-called ‘cosmopolites’ as a result show attitudes, which express an “emotional and ethical commitment towards universalism, selflessness,

worldliness and communitarianism” (Skrbis and Woodward, 2007, p. 730 in Llopig-Goig, 2013).

Llopig-Goig (2013) has added a definition of cosmopolitanism applicable in daily life, so-called ordinary cosmopolitanism. Whereas cosmopolitanism used to be mostly associated with and reserved for well-traveled wealthy elites with greater economic, cultural and political resources, ordinary cosmopolitanism indicates cosmopolitan values not exclusively experienced by the relatively better-off. Ordinary cosmopolitanism refers to those behaviours and competences ‘ordinary’ people perform in their daily lives in order to deal with the social, cultural, economic and political complexities encountered in the context of an increasingly interconnected and globalized world. These behaviours and competences show moral orientations and values, which reflect an allegiance to society as a global community.

For Appiah (2008) a global community of cosmopolitans would consist of people willing to learn about other ways of life by making use of novels, movies, newspapers, radio, television and the internet. However, this allegiance to society as a global community does not necessarily mean that cosmopolitans feel no attachment to either regional or national identities. Cosmopolitans can experience an attachment to their own home and its cultural particularities while at the same taking pleasure in the presence of other people, places and cultural practices. Appiah (1997) refers tot this as ‘patriot cosmopolitanism’. This shift within academic literature towards interpreting ‘ordinary’ cosmopolitanism and patriot cosmopolitanism reflects how the concept of cosmopolitanism is moving towards a more inclusive understanding: as a sentiment not merely experienced by a small elite group but by ‘ordinary’ citizens as well, who are embedded in “intercultural practices of everyday life in culturally complex societies” (Noble, 2009, p. 48).

However, as can be read from these interpretations of cosmopolitanism there is a strong emphasis on cultural diversity and tolerance, thereby reflecting the cultural skein as discussed by Woodward et al (2008). The cultural dimensions of cosmopolitanism serve as a useful framework for understanding the motivations of political consumers for their consumptive behaviour as it refers to those behaviours and competences ‘ordinary’ people perform in their daily lives in order to deal with the complexities described earlier.

Complementary to this, the political dimensions of cosmopolitanism are relevant as well. As this study explores the workings of conflict-sensitive consumerism, cosmopolitan political theory provides us with a framework for understanding people’s motivations for global democracy and justice. The next paragraph will discuss this political dimension more in depth.

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2.3.1 Cosmopolitanism and global justice

According to Appiah (2008) the ideals of cosmopolitans are rooted in the modern idea that each human individual has ultimate responsibility for her or his life. Human dignity is then based on his or her capacity for and right to self-management. The responsibility felt by cosmopolitans combined with a person’s capability to mediate between national traditions, religious communities and alternative lifestyles as was described by Held, leads according to Held (2000) to citizens as political agents able to reason from the point of view of others. Therefore cosmopolitans, Held states, might be better equipped to resolve complex transnational issues and processes in a fair way.

For Held the role of these cosmopolitan political agents is important within the grander cosmopolitan project as this project attempts to “specify the principles and the institutional arrangements

for making accountable those sites and forms of power which presently operate beyond the scope of democratic control”. This way it is different from the cultural dimension of cosmopolitanism, as the political

cosmopolitan project is mainly focused on making accountable contemporary forms of power, such as transnational corporations, which are most often not democratically regulated. As these transnational businesses affect us all – nationally, regionally and globally – through for example (even though maybe unintendedly) environmental degradation, human rights abuses, the cosmopolitan project strives to make these sites of power accountable through democratization, a cosmopolitan democracy (see Held, 1995). Within this cosmopolitan democracy people possess different layers of democratic citizenship – local, national, regional and global – and live in a world ruled by a democratic global government (Tinnevelt and Bal, 2012). The accountability that is striven for in the cosmopolitan project stems from the central place global justice takes up within the cosmopolitan discourse.

Globalization has changed the way we argue about justice. According to Fraser (2000) during the heyday of social democracy, issues of justice were mostly played out within modern territorial states as societies were mostly concerned with equality between fellow citizens. Due to heightened awareness of globalization and post-Cold War geopolitical instabilities, Fraser states that citizens are now observing how the social processes around them, more often than not move beyond territorial borders. Therefore, it is no longer self-evident to consider the modern territorial state as the exclusive unit for thinking about issues of justice.

Without exploring the philosophical debate around global justice in depth, it goes without saying that the strongest disagreement on global justice is between those who think that people have duties beyond state borders and those who pledge ethical concerns cannot cross boundaries. From the cosmopolitan point of view, territorial sovereign states are considered to be an obstacle for the establishment of global justice (Nagel, 2005).

The renowned work of Rawls, Law of Peoples (1999) following from his earlier book Theory

of Justice (1971), discusses a strong belief in global justice and seeks to find an answer to how

people can peacefully live together in a just world in which each citizen has the same civil and democratic rights. A world in which people are entitled to an adequate share of the world’s resources (Thompson, 1998). This cosmopolitan position then holds a certain moral reasoning, as it wishes to create a world, “a common system of institutions”, in which the same standards of fairness and equal opportunity are realized as one would wish to realize for one’s own society

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In short, two dimensions of cosmopolitanism have been discussed which are relevant for this study – the cultural and political skein of cosmopolitanism. But how do these rather abstract notions find expression in everyday realities? The next paragraph will discuss one of means used by an expanding group of citizens to express their concerns with global realities of injustice and feelings of global interconnectedness.

2.4 Political consumerism

Böstrom et al. (2004) argue that the arena of consumption has increasingly become a means to express non-economic values through the market arena. Surveys such as conducted by Stolle and Micheletti (2005) found that consumers do not only consider their own needs when buying a product, but reflect on their own position as consumers as well. The modern market is therefore said to be moving from a predominantly economic space to an area “of moral action, a tool of

regulation and social participation” (Gulyas, 2008, p. 25) and a space to exercise political values and

concerns (Shah et al. 2006). People have found new ways to express their ideals regarding issues such as global solidarity, human rights and sustainable development. As stated by Hoogvelt (2002, p. 26): “consumer power is becoming an effective weapon in the struggle for environmental preservation”. The market then serves as a potential new arena to express these political opinions and exert political influence.

Within academic literature these emerging action repertoires have been referred to as ‘political consumerism’. Micheletti and Stolle (2005, p. 1), precursors in the research on political consumerism define political consumers as “people engage[d] in boycotts, ‘buycotts’ or in discourse about

market practices with the aim of using the market to vent their political concerns”. The narrow definition of

political consumerism as defined by Micheletti et al. (2003, p. xvi) sees political consumerism as “the consumer choice of producers and products based on political and/or ethical considerations”. These political consumers base their choice of products and/or producers on certain institutional or market practices: they either boycott products that they feel do not match with their ideals, or ‘buycott’ those producers and products they consider to be more in line with their political and/or ethical values.

“They make their choices based on considerations of justice or fairness, or on an assessment of business and

government practices. Regardless of whether political consumers act individually or collectively, their market choices reflect an understanding of material products as embedded in a complex social and normative context, which can be called the politics behind products” (Micheletti and Stolle, 2005, p. 1).

Political consumers take responsibility for global development by means of their consumer power. Through this ‘do-it-yourself’ activism, political consumers take individualized responsibility for global injustices (Micheletti & Stolle 2013). Gulyas (2012, p. 30) has listed six forms of action in political consumption: (1) non-consumption, (2) value-based regular shopping, (3) positive boycott (‘buycott’), (4) boycott, (5) usage and (6) disposal/recycling. The difference between non-consumption and boycotting is the relationship with the producer. Whereas boycotting reflects dissatisfaction with the performance of a company or product, non-consumption reflects the ambition of consumers to consume as little as possible in order to reduce the global effects of consumption. Value-based shopping refers to buying

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environmental-friendly alternative products on a regular basis, whereas the ‘buycotters’ picks one particular product to support one particular issue on a more occasional basis. Disposal and recycling refers to the saving, recycling, preservation and waste collection for environmental reasons. But not only individual consumers move around this new arena of political action. Shah (2006) highlights how social movements and corporations have politicized consumption as well by developing their actions and initiatives around services and products, through for example boycotts, ‘buycotts’ and online consumer activism.

2.4.1 ‘The’ political consumer

Who are these political consumers then? Research by Anderson and Cunningham (1972) on socially conscious consumers has suggested that the average political consumer is a pre-middle aged adult of relatively high occupational attainment and socio-economic status, which is relatively ‘more cosmopolitan’ than his less socially conscious counterpart. Many discussions on both cosmopolitanism and political consumption have therefore focused on whether these practices are only reserved for particular elites. The political consumer is seen as a social type, an intellectual and social elite who has the means to practice an eclectic consumption pattern (Noble, 2009). Characteristics of political consumers resulting from the widening of solidarities beyond an individual its hometown or country, towards solidarities of greater universality may look very different for elites than for those with fewer resources (e.g. money to travel or buy exotic products)(Calhoun, 2003). This discussion shows resemblance to the critique on cosmopolitanism discussed earlier, as it is often associated with the relatively elite positions this group has within society.

A recent study by Micheletti & Stolle (2013) has confirmed the findings of Anderson and Cunningham. The two scholars have identified some of the average characteristics of the political consumer. By using cross-national analysis of all European countries, Micheletti and Stolle found that political consumers are mostly politically interested, female, middle-aged, educated, and a bit more wealthy, politically left-leaning and urban than non-political consumers. As political consumerism has been associated with a lack of trust in formal forms of political participation, this research, however, shows that political consumers do not necessarily trust electoral political institutions less. They do however believe more in the reliability of consumer agencies. On top of that, they believe, more than non-political consumers do, in the power of consumers and corporations and in the responsibility of citizens to make conscious consumer choices. Compared to other citizens, political consumers in general share corresponding beliefs regarding law and order, but differ from other citizens by being more solidarity-oriented and adhering more to solidarity beyond borders than other citizens.

Most political consumers can be found in Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland and Germany. In Portugal, Italy, Poland, Hungary and Greece political consumption is relatively low compared to other European countries (Micheletti and Stolle, 2013). However, these statements are based on a recent single cross-national study and have not yet been confirmed or invalidated by other researchers.

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2.4.2 Political consumers and cosmopolitanism

In the previous chapters cosmopolitanism and political consumerism respectively were discussed in depth independently. A recently published paper by Llopig-Goig (2013) has attempted to bring these two concepts together. In his research, Llopis-Goig explores how cosmopolitanism can play a role in the development of social participation behaviours, such as political consumerism. This stemmed from their hypothesis that the ‘cultural openness’, which can be found among cosmopolitans, might act as a framework that generates an awareness of ethical, social or political criteria leading to actions such as political consumption.

His study on Spanish consumers has shown that these political consumers do indeed have a higher level of cosmopolitanism than those consumers who do not show this kind of consumptive behaviour. Furthermore, this study has suggested that cosmopolitan values manifest themselves through political consumption in the daily lives of ordinary people. This way ordinary cosmopolitanism contributes to this new form of political action: political consumerism. Saran and Kalliny (2013) have recently developed a scale that enables measuring cosmopolitanism among consumers. In previous research, different scholars have attempted to measure cosmopolitan attitudes among consumers in a variety of ways (Riefler & Diamantopoulos (2009), Vida et al. (2005), Riefler et al. (2012)). Saran and Kalliny (2013, p. 289) have in response to these measurement scales, constructed a comprehensive scale to identify and differentiate between consumers who are cosmopolitan and consumers who are not or to a lesser extent. Through confirmatory factor analysis and testing for construct reliability the ‘COSMOSCALE’ has been constructed. With this scale the level of cosmopolitanism can be measured through six items. The ‘COSMOSCALE’ consists of six propositions:

(1) I think it’s good to spend time with people who are willing to talk and learn about other cultures.

(2) I think I respect others’ culture the way I respect mine.

(3) I think if people have a positive attitude toward other communities, there would be less conflict in the world.

(4) I think to be successful, one needs to be able to use materials, information, knowledge, etc. from other cultures.

(5) I am ready to learn about other cultures through listening, observation, thinking and reflecting.

(6) I think reading about world events is worthwhile.

As can be read from these propositions, the measurement scale constructed by Saran and Kalliny measures the ‘cultural skein’ of cosmopolitanism: it is mainly focused on consumers’ opinions and levels of openness towards other cultures. It thus neglects the political dimensions of cosmopolitanism concerning opinions on global justice and accountability. Therefore, this study will use not only this scale to measure cosmopolitan values with consumers, but will complementarily search for political expressions of cosmopolitanism, as discussed in the previous paragraph as well.

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2.5 Theoretical interpretation of conflict-sensitive consumerism

Theory on the global embeddedness of ‘local’ conflict, conflict resources, cosmopolitanism and political consumption discussed in this chapter, will provide the theoretical framework in which conflict-sensitive consumption can be embedded. As a result, a theoretical interpretation of conflict-sensitive consumption can be distilled from these concepts. Looking from a world-systems perspective, conflict-sensitive consumption is a means towards connecting the ‘local’ and the ‘global’, the ‘core’ and the ‘periphery’ in order to tackle the structural causes of conflict. A conflict-sensitive consumer thereby brings violent conflict back home. He does so by acknowledging the embeddedness of its causes within our global economy, in this case the trade in conflict resources. This way the conflict-sensitive consumer looks beyond national borders and reflects on the effects of his consumption on other people around the world. He takes individual responsibility for these injustices through consumer behaviour. The conflict-sensitive consumer therefore adjusts his consumptive pattern based on ethical and political values that promote peace and conflict prevention. These values and behaviours show strong similarity to those values and attitudes found in political consumers and cosmopolitans. The theoretical conflict-sensitive consumer thus does not only show cultural cosmopolitan values such as openness towards other cultures and lifestyles, he demonstrates allegiance to society as a global community based on equality and fairness as well.

However, as this is merely an interpretation of the theoretical conflict-sensitive consumer, the existence of the conflict-sensitive consumer remains to be explored and therefore stands at the core of this research. Moreover, since its main theoretical characteristics show similarities to political consumerism as an expression of cosmopolitanism, this study will explore how conflict-sensitive consumerism, in the case of Fairphone, relates to political consumerism and how it is embedded within this cosmopolitan discourse.

2.6 Research questions & hypotheses

The following research question will therefore be guiding for this study: How can conflict-sensitive

consumerism be understood and how does it relate to political consumerism as an expression of cosmopolitanism?

In order to provide a comprehensive answer to this central research question, several sub questions have been formulated.

(1) What meanings do consumers of the Fairphone attach to their purchase?

(2) What role does violent conflict play for the consumer in their purchase of the Fairphone?

(3) How does conflict-sensitive consumerism relate to political consumerism?

(4) To what extent can conflict-sensitive consumerism be considered to be an expression of cosmopolitanism?

The conceptual model as presented in figure (3.1) shows how the three main concepts of the theoretical framework will be studied within the case of Fairphone. Exploring these concepts within the context of Fairphone, will lead to an understanding of conflict-sensitive consumerism.

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Figure 2.1 Conceptual model

Based on the theoretical framework of this research several hypotheses can be formulated with regards to the research questions described above.

Hypothesis 1:

Alternative hypothesis: If consumers are mostly driven by a broader socially conscious lifestyle, then

conflict-sensitive consumerism can be considered as part of mainstream political consumerism.

Hypothesis 2:

Alternative hypothesis: If the discourse used by Fairphone and the opinions and values expressed by its

customers do not reflect on cosmopolitan values, conflict-sensitive consumerism cannot be considered as a means for the expression of cosmopolitanism.

If consumers are mostly driven by their concern and knowledge on violent conflict worldwide, then conflict-sensitive consumerism can be considered as an autonomous trend within political consumerism.

If the discourse used by Fairphone and the opinions and values expressed by its customers reflect cosmopolitan values, conflict-sensitive consumerism can be considered as a means for the expression of cosmopolitanism.

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3. METHODOLOGY

For this research a qualitative method of data collection has been used. Qualitative methods are considered suitable if the aim is to describe, interpret and to explain behaviours, experiences and ‘products’ of a selected research group (Boeije et al., 2007,p. 253). As formulated in the research question, this research aims to create an understanding of conflict-sensitive consumerism and how this phenomenon relates to political consumption as an expression of cosmopolitanism. As there is yet a lack of scientific knowledge on this specific topic, this study will be exploratory by nature as it seeks to develop theory on conflict-sensitive consumerism instead of testing it to preliminary research.

At the basis of this research lies an actor orientation (Giddens 1984; Long 1992 in van Leeuwen, 2008). This means that this research starts from the premise that social actors have agency. With this agency people reflect upon their experiences and surroundings and use their knowledge and skills to interpret and respond to this. “An actor orientation recognizes the large range of

constraints that impinge on social actors – such as persons, place and role in the social system or the values and norms of a society – but emphasizes that such constraints operate through people” (van Leeuwen, 2008, p. 8).

Conflict-sensitive consumption is a socially constructed phenomenon, involving different groups of social actors. The meanings people give to consumption are embedded within norms and structures, reproduced and maintained by people in their daily lives. An actor-oriented approach allows analyzing how actors give meaning to particular social realities and reflect upon their consumer behaviour and the interaction with their personal values and attitudes. In order to explore the meanings and opinions of people, which underlie conflict-sensitive consumer behavior, this study will make use of a case study in which these behaviours are performed.

3.1 Case study as a research method

Case study research is considered to be an appropriate method for this study as it provides us with a more informed basis for theory development than other qualitative methods (Bonomo 1985; Eisenhardt 1989; Yin 1989) when used in newly developing areas of research. A case study focuses on understanding the dynamics present within single settings (Eisenhardt, 1989) and has as its main objective to develop and construct (novel) theory (Riege, 2003).,It has been useful in providing description and testing theory as well. As a result, case study research provides an in-depth understanding of a particular case (Creswell, 2007). This research method is particularly useful since it is considered to be appropriate for explorative research. It does not require extensive theoretical propositions at the outset of the research.

Case study research can be used to study a case in a holistic manner or analyze a case at different units of analysis. The last one is often referred to as an ‘embedded’ case study. Within case study research, the researcher can make use of qualitative data, quantitative data or both and combines several data collection methods such as interviews, archives, questionnaires and observations (Eisenhardt, 1989).

This study will analyze both the consumers of Fairphone, the team of Fairphone and the information given by Fairphone on their website and will therefore make use of a single-case

Pushing for Peace : A case study on Fairphone as an exploration of conflict-sensitive consumerism